Four Swords, Naruto Style!
by Aoi Shinkaze
Summary: It's been two and a half years, and Naruto is back in Konoha. He hasn't been slacking off his training, and now he has five voices in his head instead of one. What changes have been wrought in Naruto? Has Jiraiya really changed his perverse ways? Just kidding, he hasn't. Oh yeah, Naruto has four zanpakuto now.


Finally decided to get off my ass and write out a bit of this story.

Just a warning, I can and will vacillate between using English and Japanese for the characters' attacks. Sorry if it seems confusing. If you don't understand any terms I chuck in either, feel free to PM me.

"Speaking"

'Thoughts'

Disclaimer: I own neither Bleach nor Naruto, and I'm glad I don't, because my drawing sucks.

[A Mile out of Konoha]

Two males walked side by side down a long and dusty road. The taller of the two seemed older, and walked with the sort of gait of someone who has imbibed copious amounts of alcohol, and is proud of it. His expression appeared to be locked in a sake induced daze. The other male, who seemed to be quite a bit younger, and was only marginally shorter, had an expression of fond exasperation upon his face, the kind one gains after having to deal with young children or stubborn uncles.

The younger male, Naruto, turned to his mentor, teacher and irritating superior.

"Oy, Ero-sennin." Not receiving a response, Naruto waited a few seconds for the man to walk slightly ahead of him, and swiftly booted him in the rear, sending the man flying into a bush.

"Oi, Gaki! What?!" The man, Jiraiya, could be heard grumbling and complaining as he slowly dragged himself out of the underbrush he had landed in. "What have I been teaching you about respecting your elders?"

"I don't know Ero-sennin, I stopped listening when you started groping a woman in the middle of your speech." Naruto, his blonde hair shining in the noonday sun, had a faint look of distaste on his face, even as he recalled the punch that the woman had delivered to his sensei, knocking the man flat and making Naruto smile non-stop for hours.

Jiraiya had finally managed to extricate himself from the apparently quite troublesome bush. He turned, eyes glinting, with a smile that seemed entirely too evil for Naruto's face. "Well then boy, how about I teach you how to respect your elders properly?"

Naruto spared a single glance, before both arms blurred, a dozen kunai pinning the sage to a tree as a gigantic spike of earth erupted where the man had been standing. Before the ninja in the trees could blink, she and her three cohorts were swiftly beheaded by a blur of steel.

Naruto touched down again next to Jiraiya, who was calmly picking the kunai out. The man handed the dozen knives to the teen, who gratefully stowed them back in his pouch. Jiraiya glanced at the two swords Naruto had used, both once more at Naruto's hips, fully sheathed.

"One of these days Gaki, you're going to have to show Tsunade and me those swords of yours."

"I know. But the longer I can postpone it, the better, right?"

"Whatever kid. Now let's go. Did you see who those bounty hunters were?"

"Yeah." Naruto nonchalantly lifted his arms behind his head, yawning as he replied, "Small timers. Not worth turning in."

"Alright brat."

The two continued on their way, heading towards Konoha, the four swords on Naruto's back making slight whispering noises as he moved. The scroll on Jiraiya's back provided similar noises, something that Naruto hadn't been able to appreciate until his swords, his zanpakutos, did the same.

[Hokage's Office, Konoha]

Tsunade paced relentlessly within her office, Shizune in the background with Sakura, both trying to calm her down. Her mind was stuck within a rather circular train of thought, all focused on why Jiraiya and Naruto were a day late. If Akatsuki had captured Naruto, there was no way of knowing, and no way for her to save the little brat without any knowledge on the mysterious organization, which not even Jiraiya had been able to pin down. That Jiraiya hadn't sent a toad was both worrying and not at the same time, it meant only one of three things. One, nothing was wrong, they were merely delayed by something unavoidable, and so would be here shortly; two, there had been an attack or something of the sort, but not serious enough for Jiraiya to tell her; and three, Jiraiya was dead, and so could not send her any news.

Tsunade wished Jiraiya was here so she could _punch_ him.

[Half a Mile Away from Konoha]

Jiraiya sneezed. He hoped some pretty girl was talking about him.

Naruto grumbled as he continued at the horribly slow pace set by his teacher. Honestly, if the man hadn't insisted on the torturously slow pace they would have been home yesterday. Naruto also knew that the man's excuse was just as terrible. 'You need to work on patience.' Sure Ero-sennin, sure. Especially after the days he had to spend, staking out the most random and desolate places imaginable. All on the orders of his psychopathic teacher.

Naruto perked up however, as he felt faint traces of chakra in the air. He backed up, and tried to _see_ the barrier Jiraiya had told him about. The barrier protected Konoha, warning its inhabitants of whomever crossed its lines. He let the faintest trickle of chakra enter one eye, while keeping the other tightly shut. Jiraiya had said that it was better to look out of one enhanced eye, than have both be incapacitated and useless.

Not that it had stopped the man from removing one sense after another over the course of days, trying to make him as efficient as possible. Now Naruto was sensitive to even the faintest hints of chakra. He had even picked up on where the Kyubi had appeared, 16 years ago, though Jiraiya said that wasn't very impressive since Naruto held the beast in his mind and so could instantly and accurately sense its presence, or even the lingering signs of it. However, when they snuck into Kumo, the teen had picked up on both the Nibi and the Hachibi's chakras, and _then_ Jiraiya had allowed a bit of surprise and pride show on his face.

Naruto was glad, they were almost at Konoha, and if he focused, he could hear the barest hints of sound coming from the direction of the village. He cast a pleading look at his mentor, and the man rolled his eyes, sighed gustily, pinching his nose and nodded.

"Fine brat."

"YATTA!" Naruto's yell didn't even faze the Sannin, who at this point was selectively deaf to such events. The hyperactive ninja who had been cooped up for the past hour or so grinned entirely too widely at his mentor, and then took off. Said mentor groaned before following at the same speed.

[Konoha Gate]

Izumo and Kotetsu, the so-called perpetual gate-keepers, blinked in shock as they heard a long, drawn out yell coming from the road that led into Konoha. They leaned out slightly, and gaped at the approaching dust cloud with some trepidation. Before they could enter battle positions, however, they felt a very familiar chakra at the edge of their senses, and their mouths opened in shock as they felt Naruto's distinct chakra heading towards them at high speed. It was closely followed by Jiraiya-sama's chakra, which assured them. Laughing, they returned to their posts, only to blink in surprise as a giant, billowing cloud of dust blew by them.

They looked up at Naruto's sheepish face, as Jiraiya-sama held him by the collar, groaning.

Izumo spoke first, "It's been boring without you Naruto. Good to see you back!"

Naruto grinned happily, his black robes fluttering in the wake of his passage as he took in their genuine gladness. "It's great to be back in Konoha!"

Jiraiya shook his head as they signed in, and the two ninja sped off towards the Hokage Tower.

[End Chapter]

So, tell me whatcha think!

Also, should I or should I not add the –ttebayo/-dattebayo to the end of some or Naruto's sentences? I dislike the "Believe it" verbal tic, mostly because it brings up ad memories of the dubbed anime, but I don't really mind the dattebayo one. If by the time I write the next chapter I have enough yes or no responses, I'll do whichever, but if I feel there wasn't sufficient input I'm gonna stick it in.

We'll get to the topic of Naruto's swords, and which ones they are, hopefully in the next chapter. You'll also find out why Jiraiya doesn't know what the blades look like, even though Naruto's had them for almost the whole training break.

Review please!


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